The Rural Program provides critical, life-saving services to underserved rural communities in Missoula County and Mineral County. Nearly one-third of Missoula County residents live in rural communities.

Rural residents may face significant barriers to receiving help after experiencing domestic or sexual violence or stalking. Rural victims are more likely to lack access to jobs, public assistance, social services, transportation and affordable housing. This makes it harder to leave an abusive partner to gain safety for themselves and their children. In 2010, Missoula County partnered with neighboring Mineral County to expand the reach of the program. The Rural Program has been funded by the Department of Justice Office on Violence against Women for more than 10 years.

Funded by the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women Rural Grant Program, the Rural Program ensures survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking living in rural Missoula and Mineral Counties have access to supportive safety, advocacy, and other services through partnerships with rural crime victim advocates, local agencies, community-based organizations, and rural schools.

The Rural Program engages with partners and coordinates collaborative efforts to enhance survivor safety, strengthen rural justice systems, train local professionals, and continue partnering with the schools to teach healthy communication to our kids and prevent future violence.

Projects & Initiatives

• The Rural Program staff partner with local schools to teach healthy communication to our kids and prevent future violence through Healthy Relationship sessions. In the 2025-26 school year, staff from the Rural Program went to 39 different classrooms across Missoula County to talk about what healthy relationships look like. 179 total students attended these sessions. 

Upcoming Trainings & Events

Check back soon for more information on support groups, drop-in office hours and more!

Impact in 2025-26:

• Survivors served: 409
  • Survivors who received legal assistance: 72
  • Survivors who accessed the emergency shelter: 34
• Average shelter stay: 25 days
  • Total nights used at the emergency shelter: 861
• Crisis interventions: 273
• Referral requests and hotline support use: 109

This project is supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-24-GG-01024-RURA awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice.